Chapter 5
Chapter 5. Realizing
From beyond the door came a frustrated sigh.
The person who ruined Jiwoo’s birthday party was a boy about her age.
Judging by the tuxedo, he seemed to be one of the contest participants.
The boy who swung the door open boldly squatted down and looked back and forth between Jiwoo and the pie he had knocked over.
Then, raising his fierce-looking eyebrows, he said.
“…Why are you setting up a memorial altar here?”
What a jerk.
That was Jiwoo’s first impression of him.
Jiwoo answered the boy, who arrogantly acted like it wasn’t his fault.
“It’s a birthday table.”
“…”
The boy, awkwardly silent, asked again in a prickly voice,
“If it’s a birthday, why are you sulking all alone?”
“No one congratulated me.”
“…”
Silence again.
This time, the boy’s gaze toward Jiwoo changed a little.
Does he pity me?
Jiwoo found it ridiculous that the boy dared to pity her.
She wondered if he would still pity her when he found out she owned more wealth than her father, grandfather, and generations before them had earned.
Finally, the boy furrowed his brows apologetically and awkwardly scratched his forehead.
“…If I win the grand prize—”
“…?”
“I’ll congratulate you. Happy birthday.”
She probably thought he would just apologize and move on, but he said he would celebrate her birthday himself. A birthday even her own family didn’t bother to acknowledge.
It was a cringe-worthy line fit for a novel, but strangely it felt like a much more comforting apology than a simple “sorry.”
“…Fine, whatever.”
So she just let it be.
It wasn’t that she really wanted to be congratulated, but since there was no way he would win the grand prize anyway, she thought she might as well accept his good intentions.
If he had actually won the grand prize and played a brilliantly arranged birthday song encore, the signature and highlight of the Seonun Foundation competition, she definitely wouldn’t have said that.
Less than a minute after finishing his performance, he politely bowed and left the stage.
“What the heck…”
The audience, who had at least expected Chopin or Schumann, murmured loudly.
Reporters with bewildered expressions hurriedly typed away. Knowing that sensational articles sell, they wrote not praising his skill, but criticizing him heavily for his playful song choices. They said it had severely lowered the competition’s prestige.
There was only one person in the hall who didn’t criticize him.
“…He’s damn cool.”
That was Jiwoo.
She stared entranced at his back as he left, not caring about others’ eyes, simply doing what he had to and walking away.
Until then, she had thought doing whatever you wanted wasn’t mature.
Suddenly, she thought maybe doing what you want could actually be pretty cool.
She couldn’t get him out of her head all day.
By the time she realized she didn’t even know his name, she was already back home.
Pulling herself together, she typed into the search bar, “Seonun Foundation Competition Grand Prize” and hit enter.
[Seonun Foundation 5th Music Spring Competition Grand Prize: Baek Sunyul (Piano)]
The boy who was a bit rude but acted cool had a cool name too.
How can someone who plays piano be named “Sunyul” (meaning “melody”)? How did he end up with that name? She was really curious.
From that day on, Jiwoo became increasingly curious about him.
First it was his name, then the reason behind it, then his current feelings, then his future plans, then his future family plans and ideal type…
As she wondered about one thing after another, before she knew it, Jiwoo was thinking about Sunyul all day long.
She always searched for his articles, rewatched videos of him playing piano, and when he went abroad to study, she even had someone send her daily photos.
Year after year, her feelings for Sunyul grew deeper.
So when she suddenly heard that Sunyul was quitting studying abroad and transferring to Seonun University, she could only think it was fate.
She wandered around his vicinity every day, followed his schedule, and eavesdropped on his conversations with others. When he was far away, she could endure just watching, but when he came within arm’s reach, her thirst for him grew stronger.
‘I like you…’
Jiwoo, aching with love, couldn’t hold back her withering heart and blurted out a confession.
She didn’t expect it to go well. She just wanted Sunyul to know, even for a moment, that she existed in this world.
That she was here.
That she liked him.
That he had changed her life completely.
To her surprise, Sunyul responded rather readily to her sudden, unexpected confession.
“Then do you want to date?”
From the moment she heard those unexpected words,
Jiwoo’s world changed.
It was like color was painted for the first time in a world that had only been black and white shadows.
Her life without Sunyul would be worthless time burned to ashes.
Sunyul was Jiwoo’s light, love, and joy itself.
Her universe revolved around Sunyul.
She sincerely wished for Sunyul to live a happy and blessed life more than anything else, even more than for her own safety.
…But then.
[System] PLAYER smiles at ‘Crush Hwang Jina’.
[System] PLAYER’s affection toward ‘Crush Hwang Jina’ increases by +5.
‘How could you betray me like this…!’
Jiwoo’s heart shattered at the system message revealing Sunyul’s recent status.
Her precious boyfriend—her light, love, and joy itself—was secretly exchanging signals with new girls even though she was watching wide-eyed.
Anger, disappointment, sorrow, and despair alternated in overwhelming Jiwoo.
She knew the name of this burning, gut-wrenching feeling.
Betrayal.
The taste of betrayal experienced firsthand was burning hot.
Jiwoo couldn’t control the emotions rising from deep within her at all.
